Wildly Successful: The African Giant Millipede

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Wildly Successful: The African Giant Millipede

If the great Stan Lee were to create an animal superhero in his time, he would have stayed true to the formula which propelled so many of his creations into super sci-fi stardom. The most essential quality for nearly all of his characters was an unassuming, humble nature. He would then add an incredible array of unique powers to his evolving creation. Lastly, he would wrap his character in a cloak of goodness—which they would in turn bestow upon the planet…or perhaps the galaxy.

With this unbeatable formula in mind, it seems that Stan Lee, rather than Mother Nature, created Archispirostreptus gigas, otherwise known as the African Giant millipede. This beast from the African rainforest is indeed a humble, unassuming creature. Far from flashy, the millipede is colored a blackish purple hue, and is incapable of climbing, running, flying or swimming, its mode of locomotion is simply, walking.

Within the African rainforest, its specific habitat is the rainforest floor. As a detritivore, this beast roams the leaf litter searching for meals—mostly decomposing plant matter—all the while churning through the top layer of soil with its bulldozer approach.

Its unique superpowers seem to leap off the pages of a comic book or graphic novel. As an invertebrate, an animal without a backbone, it’s not surprising that these beasts possess an exoskeleton. What is unusual is that it possesses a multilayered exoskeleton which is comprised of dorsal calcareous plates or reinforced body armor. It is this unique design that confers both proportional super strengths to mix the rainforest soil and great defense from predators.

It is this soil mixing that enables the rainforest to grow and flourish…hence the goodness to the planet. Yet the African Giant millipede has far more to it than a few extra legs. For starters, these creatures are true giants of the invertebrate world. Reaching lengths of up to 13 inches, they dissuade most amphibian, reptile and bird predators, and nearly all invertebrate predators, by their size alone.

In addition to their size, they utilize their armored exoskeleton for defense—curling up into a defensive ball position. If a predator is not deterred by their size, or their defensive posture, the millipede can launch a chemical attack. Any predator foolish enough to sniff or bite the millipede, will receive a snout-full of repungnatorial fluid which is a potent cocktail of cyanide and hydrocyanic acid.

Yet the Giant millipede’s superpowers don’t end there. Possessing multiple legs per segment, the millipedes travel their rainforest home on up to 400 legs. Utilizing their simple eyes known as ocelli, as well as a pair of antennae, they can navigate the dense rainforest to find food and each other. Equipped with two sets of internal organs per segment, giant millipedes are designed like no other creatures on the planet.

Found on every continent other than Antarctica, and just one of the 7,000 known species of millipedes on the planet, there is more than one millipede species for every one of the world’s 6,000 + known mammals. In The U.S. and Canada alone, we have more than 1,400 native millipede species. This exceptional diversity enables the world’s forests and grasslands to benefit from these soil engineers, which in turn distribute nutrients from their waste, mix nitrogen into the soil, and aerate it for optimal plant growth, in the process.

The millipede is no overnight success either. These animals have been plowing through the planet’s forests and grasslands for an astounding 420 million years! With a track record of survival like that and the ability to flourish on all but one of the world’s continents, the millipede is one of nature’s most successful creatures.

With such a resume of success to its credit, the millipede shouldn’t lack fans, yet its humble, behind-the-scenes nature, assures this planetary superhero is often overlooked. Having worked with them for years, I can assure you, that they can wow an audience just as much as any falcon or tiger cub. For most, the initial sight is familiar, but the size throws most people off. With our largest Connecticut species, the American Giant millipede, topping off at a very respectable four inches, the African Giant adds a new dimension and sense of wonder to all of those who witness its “chorus kick line” up close.

When we shine a light on creatures like the African Giant millipede, we realize that nature might be ruled by the bold, but it is run by the old—the ancient creatures who have not had to change over millions of years because Mother Nature got it right so many years ago.

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